“Rebecca Farr a meteorologist from New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology, told Daily Mail Australia the ‘scale and duration of the heatwave is unprecedented’.
“Due to the final few days of baking heat January records are set to be broken.
“Ms Farr said: ‘January is on track to be the hottest ever January on record for all of Australia.
“‘New South Wales as a state is also on track to be the warmest on record,’ she said.”
“Hobart is heading for its driest January on record, with less than 1mm of rain falling since the start of the year. The lowest Hobart rainfall recorded in January is 2.8mm in 2008, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and there is little prospect of rain.”
“The record flooding [in Queensland] damaged the ferry infrastructure and shut down service across the river for several days… Torrential rainfall of nearly 300 mm (12 inches) fell in only 6 hours across the region, leading to the historic flooding. The heaviest rainfall has ended for Cairns and Daintree; however, additional showers and thunderstorms are possible each day this week, hampering recovery efforts and keeping river levels dangerously high.”
“”Unfortunately, the rain [in Bolivia] has wreaked havoc and there are quality standards that we must meet for exports and these climatic conditions definitely do not allow us,” said the president of the Agricultural Chamber of Cochabamba (CAC), Jasmany Medrano. He explained that Argentina is demanding the product, but at the moment it can not be fulfilled with the export.”
“Arizona is facing a deadline to become the last of several states in the U.S. West to approve a plan ensuring shared water from the Colorado River doesn’t dry up for millions of farmers, cities, tribes and developers that depend on it.
“The other six states have agreed to plans that recognize a long-running drought, the dwindling supply of water and how they intend to cope with it. Arizona’s plan has broad support but hasn’t been approved by the Legislature…”
“The South and East Coast are expecting rain and snow today as an Arctic front heads east. Trailing this polar front is the coldest air mass seen in the U.S. in decades, and it’s expected to hit the Midwest tonight, into tomorrow…
“Almost three dozen states this morning are under alerts and advisories for winter weather.”
“A weekend deluge set a one-day rainfall record in Fort Myers that topped even 2016’s torrential downpours that caused massive flooding in some of Southwest Florida…
“Hubbard said nearly 3.7 inches of rain fell at Page Field Airport… That’s more rainfall than in any day in January since the weather service started keeping records, which go back more than a century for Fort Myers.”
““Torrential floods from the Najaf desert — the result of recent heavy rainfall — have swept away more than 50 homes in the village of Al-Rahimiya in the province’s southwest region,” Ihab Sheikli, a local civil-defence official, told Anadolu Agency.
“On Sunday, Iraq’s Water Resources Ministry warned the public to brace for inordinately heavy rainfall and accompanying flash floods in the days ahead. Last November, at least 10 people were killed in different parts of Iraq by torrential rains and flooding.”
“Students in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Tuesday were forced to take their mid-term exams in flooded classrooms as heavy rains continue to affect the country… Provincial authorities from various parts of the country have recognized the severity of the situation and declared Tuesday to be a public holiday. Iraqi social media users posted videos on Facebook showing elementary school pupils taking their exams in a flooded classroom.”
“Heavy rainfall and sandstorms in the Kingdom have led to flooding, school closures and poor visibility, authorities said Monday as they urged people to take precautions during the bout of bad weather.
“Rain hit northern and western parts of Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Monday..
“…sand swept through major population areas to bog down the skyline.”
“The Wellington suburb of Kelburn [New Zealand] has had its hottest day on record, reaching 30.3C today, following on from yesterday’s record-breaking heat in Richmond.”
“At least three people have died and more than 170 others have been injured after a tornado hit the Cuban capital Havana.
“Several neighbourhoods in the city have been badly affected by the cyclone, which was swept in from the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday evening, according to local media reports.
“Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, announced on Monday three people had been killed, while dozens more were being treated for .
““The damage is severe, so far we regret the loss of 3 human lives and treated 172 injured,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Photographs circulated online showed roofs torn off buildings, upturned cars and flooded streets in several Havana neighbourhoods.”
“In the Chicago area, snow will begin on Sunday night. Then the “coldest air mass in years” will hit the region on Tuesday with extreme cold lasting through Friday, the weather service said. Record low temperatures are likely by midweek.
““I cannot stress how dangerously cold it will be,” said Mike Doll, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “An entire generation has gone by without experiencing this type of cold in the Chicago area.””
“A lobe of the polar vortex is on an express route to extreme southwestern Ontario later on Tuesday, lingering well into Wednesday. What’s the big deal? Well, all-time record minimum high temperatures are expected to be at least challenged on Wednesday for parts of southern Ontario.”
“The Cantabrian Government [Spain] asks the population to exercise extreme caution since there is an exceptional situation due to the intense rains and floods, in which infrastructures and natural environments present important damages…
“…especially with the generalized rains that are expected for the whole week.”
“Algeria’s civil protection unit said Saturday five people died after being swept away by flood waters as a cold snap in the Maghreb brought snow to several of the country’s regions…
“Elsewhere in North Africa, neighbouring Tunisia’s interior ministry said on Friday two people were killed by flooding and cold weather, after heavy snowfall.”
“Flooding in five districts in the state [of Sabah, Malaysia] continues to worsen, with more people being forced to flee their homes. As of noon today, 2,607 people have been evacuated to 19 flood relief centres across the state…
“The areas were inundated with floodwaters following non-stop rain since Friday.”
“Hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides and strong winds have hit several areas across Indonesia. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced in the last week…
“The BNPB recorded that the worst hydrometeorological disaster in the past few weeks was in South Sulawesi, with at least 69 people killed and 6,700 others displaced by floods and landslides that hit 12 regencies and one city across the province last week.”
“Philippines – Nearly 20,000 individuals fled their homes in the Davao Region as the trough or extension of a low pressure area triggered floods and landslides.
“Leslie Francisco, spokesperson of the region’s Office of Civil Defense, said on Sunday, January 27, that a resident of Barangay Tapia in Montevista, Compostela Valley, was killed in a landslide.”
“Communities were cut off, farmers stranded and cows washed offshore as heavy rain pelted northeast Australia on Sunday, with one major river breaking 118-year-old floodwater records…. local authorities warned that some residents in remote areas could be cut off for days.
“The heritage listed Daintree Rainforest received more than 300 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours and Northern Queensland is bracing for monsoonal conditions for the rest of the week.”
“There’s no rain in sight as [Australia’s] Gold Coast reaches the end of what could be the driest January ever recorded. The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed it had only rained five times this month and across the city an average of just 3.8mm had fallen. The figure is dramatically below the long-term average of 171.7mm for January in the past several years, with just 51.6mm in 2018.”
“Regional Water Minister Niall Blair on Monday afternoon confirmed the [mass fish] deaths at Menindee weir and along parts of the Darling River affecting bony herring, golden perch and carp.
“”The conditions out there are showing a lot of fish that are near the surface of the water, gasping for air,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“He said it is an “environmental catastrophe” and conditions could potentially deteriorate further.”
“Hawke’s Bay and parts of the Upper South Island [New Zealand] have reached 37C as temperatures continue to climb this afternoon. Meanwhile in the Wider Nelson area, Richmond’s minimum temperature of 24.3C has set a new record. Records began in the area 157 years ago.”
“Brazilian rescuers on Sunday soldiered on in the search for hundreds of people missing after a breached mining dam triggered a deadly mudslide, but hopes of finding survivors dimmed more than two days after the disaster.
“Search efforts were paralyzed for much of the day on fears another dam could give way in the Vale SA iron ore mining complex in the state of Minas Gerais.”
“The retreat of Arctic glaciers is exposing landscapes that haven’t seen the sun for nearly 120,000 years.
“These rocky vistas have very likely been covered in ice since the Eemian, a period in which average temperatures were up to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) warmer than present, and sea levels up to 30 feet (9 meters) higher.
“”The last century of warmth is likely greater than any century prior to this going back 120,000 years,” said study leader Simon Pendleton, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.”
“At least one person was killed and 11 others injured when a powerful tornado hit Turkey’s southern coastal Antalya province, according to the provincial governor…
“The powerful storm started Wednesday night, hitting Antalya’s Kumluca, Kemer and Finike districts and damaging buildings, agricultural areas and vehicles.”
“While out on a hike and a mission to find mushrooms in the area of Kfar Ruppin, archaeologist Ayelet Goldberg-Keidar and her two daughters were surprised to discover a small 2,800 year-old horse-shaped clay figurine. The ancient find made its way to the surface with the help of driving rain storms, which displaced soil enough to reveal another piece of Israel’s history.”
“South Africa’s agricultural industry body AgriSA will approach banks, agribusiness and government to raise 3 billion rand ($220 million) to help farmers hit by severe drought, its executive director said on Friday…
““We have basically reached a point now where we don’t have any more fat in the system. There is no buffer any more in the agricultural sector,” AgriSA boss Omri van Zyl told reporters.”
“Adolescent girls exposed to severe drought conditions in rural Lesotho had higher rates of HIV, according to a new study…
“Adolescent girls and young women in rural areas of drought were also more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, including sex work, and were more likely to drop out of school.”
“The city of Chennai [India] is headed towards a drought worse than 2016 this summer but its residents, according to authorities controlling water supply, remain in denial.
“With the water in reservoirs which the city depends on seeing a deficit of 77.37% compared to last year, experts point out that it is about time residents begin using the limited resource judiciously.”
“The death toll from floods and landslides in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province has jumped to at least 59, according to authorities, as rescuers raced to find more than two dozen others still missing…
“”I’ve never seen something this bad – this is the worst,” Syamsibar, head of South Sulawesi’s disaster mitigation agency, told AFP news agency on Friday…”
“A potentially-devastating cyclone is rapidly gaining momentum and is set to unleash lashing winds and devastating floods. The strengthening weather system is sitting over the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland and is forecast to develop throughout Friday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.”
“Bushfires have ravaged 30,000 ha of bush at Standley Chasm as Alice Springs looks set to enter its third week of a record breaking heatwave. Temperatures in Alice Springs are expected to be above 42C again on Friday for the 14th consecutive day.”
“…this year there are no rivers. With the mercury in the mid-40s, the Narran, the Namoi and the Barwon – all tributaries of the vast Murray-Darling river system – are dry, or reduced to a series of green, stagnant weir pools.
“The mighty red gums, roots exposed, are hanging on for dear life. Heritage-protected lakes and wetlands are empty, and with them have gone the breeding grounds of native birds and fish.”
“The water in the New Zealand region is significantly warmer than it was 30 years ago, and all indications are the warming trend will continue, said a NIWA scientist… The increased warmth isn’t only at the surface – around New Zealand the increased warmth penetrates in places to 200m deep while in the Tasman Sea it reaches down to at least 850m.”
“Parts of southern Florida have now slid into a short-term severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This is despite flooding rains across nearly every other part of the eastern half of the United States.”
“Greg Fuzesi, an economist at JPMorgan, has estimated that the low level of the Rhine and other important German rivers shaved off 0.7 percentage points of economic growth in 2018.
“The phenomenon, caused by a year of extraordinarily warm and dry weather, was almost certainly related to human-driven climate change.”
“The climate crisis is intensifying a new military buildup in the Arctic, diplomats and analysts said this week, as regional powers attempt to secure northern borders that were until recently reinforced by a continental-sized division of ice.
“That so-called unpaid sentry is now literally melting away, opening up shipping lanes and geo-security challenges, said delegates at the Arctic Frontiers conference, the polar circle’s biggest talking shop, who debated a series of recent escalations.”
“Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees Celsius on Thursday (Jan 24), shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heat-stressed bats fell from trees.
“The Bureau of Meteorology reported temperatures of 49.5 deg C north of Adelaide, while inside the city temperatures reached 47.7 deg C, breaking a record that had stood since 1939.
“Adelaide residents are used to sweltering days during the southern hemisphere summer, but even they struggled with the oppressive temperatures.
“More than 13 towns across South Australia have smashed their own heat records.”
“The Tasmania Fire Service is warning ember attacks and dangerous fire conditions could hit before dawn, and are urging people in the Central Highlands and south of Huonville to think about their bushfire survival plans now…
“…there are concerns a fire at Celtic Hill could threaten irreplaceable vegetation at Mount Anne, inside Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area.”
“Both Queensland and Western Australia are being warned of brewing cyclones which threaten to lash both states with wild winds and rain.
“An erratic low-pressure system sitting over far north Queensland could develop into a cyclone from Friday. The weather system is sitting over Cape York Peninsula and is expected to develop further over the next 24-48 hours, the Bureau of Meteorology says.”
“As we approach the end of January some parts of New Zealand have become very dry after a wet end to 2018 and no real rain is in sight for some regions according to WeatherWatch NZ.
“Head forecaster Philip Duncan says the series of highs streaming in from Australia look likely to continue into February with no major rain makers for the nation on the horizon at this stage.”
“Novosilski Glacier is a large tidewater outlet glacier on the west (cloudier) coast of South Georgia, terminating in Novosilski Bay.
“It shares a divide with the rapidly retreating Ross and Hindle Glacier on the east coast. Gordon et al. (2008) observed that larger tidewater and calving outlet glaciers generally remained in relatively advanced positions from the 1950’s until the 1980s. After 1980 most glaciers receded; some of these retreats have been dramatic.”
“A storm will continue to bring locally heavy rain with ice at the onset in some locations and a change back to snow in other areas of the Northeast [USA] through Thursday.
“Actual temperatures are forecast to surge 30 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit from their lowest point this past Monday morning to the peak of the warmth on Thursday. When factoring in AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures from the start of the week to Thursday, it may feel 60 to 80 degrees warmer for a time, despite the rain.””
“The findings, published in the journal Global Environmental Change, showed a particular correlation between climate stresses and conflict in parts of the Middle East and North Africa from 2010–2012, when many countries were undergoing political transformation during the Arab Spring uprisings.
“Those countries included Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Syria, which is still mired in a bloody civil war.”
“Fissures appear along roads while massive holes open up in the countryside, their gaping maws a visible sign from the air of something Iranian authorities now openly acknowledge: the area around Tehran is literally sinking.
“Stressed by a 30-year drought and hollowed by excessive water pumping, the parched landscape around Iran’s capital has begun to sink dramatically.”
“India is likely to produce 319,500 tonnes of coffee in 2018/19, down nearly 16 percent from the previous estimate, after heavy rainfall hit yields in the top two growing states, the state-run Coffee Board said on Wednesday…
“The country had been expected to harvest a record crop of 380,000 tonnes, but heavy rainfall in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala – the top two producing states – hit plantations in July and August 2018, the board said in a statement.”
“Floods and landslides in a central Indonesian province hit by torrential rains this week have killed 30 people and left more than two dozen missing, the national disaster agency said Thursday.
“Ten districts and cities in South Sulawesi province including the capital, Makassar, have been affected by flooding that began late Tuesday, forcing more than 3,000 people to flee their homes.”
“A rapid climate shift under way in the Barents Sea could spread to other Arctic regions, scientists warn.
“The Barents Sea is said to be at a tipping point, changing from an Arctic climate to an Atlantic climate as the water gets warmer. A conference in Norway heard that the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea – both further to the east – are likely to become the new Arctic frontier. The scientists warn that it will affect ecosystems.”
“Torrential rains overwhelmed a dam and caused landslides that killed at least eight people and displaced more than 2,000 in central Indonesia, officials said Wednesday.
“The dead included two infants who drowned and a man who was electrocuted after the floods began late Tuesday, said Adnan Purichta Ichsann, the chief of Gowa district near Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.”
“As the rest of Australia sweltered in a heatwave, Western Australia was smashing rainfall records as a rare summer front swept across the State.
“Huge amounts of rain fell across the South West overnight, while Perth residents also woke to a downpour this morning. Cape Leeuwin, near Augusta set a 123-year rainfall record for January…”
“Emergency services are bracing for scorching conditions across South Australia and Victoria, with an expert warning that “nowhere is going to escape the heat” as sweltering temperatures threaten to break all-time records. Adelaide’s all-time record temperature of 46.1C is expected to the tested tomorrow…
“In South Australia, Ceduna reached its hottest day on record today with the mercury climbing to 48.4 degrees Celsius.”
“A new state record for the most consecutive days over 45 degrees Celsius has been broken in Queensland this week, with the mercury reaching sweltering temperatures in Birdsville in the state’s far south-west over 10 days… “As soon as you start sweating, you’re dry within seconds and the ground, the bitumen, sometimes you drive around, and the bitumen is bubbling and peeling.””
“It took one heatwave — just one — to kill about 34 per cent of the spectacled flying foxes in Australia. Shocked? Wait. It is not over yet. All the animals — also known as the spectacled fruit bats — reportedly died in two days.
“Before the heat wave last November, Australia had an estimated 75,000 spectacled flying foxes…”
“Heatwave conditions with persistently high temperatures are expected over Free State, North-West and eastern parts of the Northern Cape [South Africa] until Friday…
“Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the central and eastern parts of the Northern Cape, the northern interior of the Eastern Cape, and the western parts of both the North West and Free State provinces.”
“While temperatures in many parts of the United States plummet close to zero, Seattle could be barreling toward its warmest January ever.
“According to the National Weather Service, the average high temperature at Sea-Tac for the first 16 days of January was 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit — that represents the warmest temperature on record over that period in any recorded year, dating back to the 1890s.”
“Bark beetle invaded tens of thousands of untouched acres of Colorado forests last year as trees suffered under record-breaking heat and extreme drought, says a new report by the Colorado State Forest Service and the U.S. Forest Service.
“Spruce beetle attacked 178,000 acres of Engelmann spruce…”
“A cold weather system strengthened by Arctic air has helped freeze the area around Niagara Falls. More cold weather is expected to prolong the stunning scenes, with freezing rain on the way.
“Niagara Falls have only completely frozen over once before, back in 1848.”
“Interior Minister Rogelio Frigerio said that the president, Mauricio Macri, will sign on Tuesday a water emergency decree urging the areas involved from the government to promote the necessary mechanisms to “alleviate the difficult situation” that citizens have experienced in recent days.”
“University of Colorado glaciologist Mike MacFerrin, who studies meltwater on Greenland’s surface, agreed with the new paper’s conclusions. He recalled visiting Greenland in the spring of 2012, when the NAO was in a deeply negative phase and a massive high pressure system had parked itself over the ice island.
““We…watched with horror as meltwater and runoff overwhelmed all previous records in the scientific record of Greenland,” MacFerrin told Earther via email.”
“The Arriondas hospital [NW Spain], forced by flooding to evacuate patients.
“The patients are being transferred to the health centers of Avilés, Gijón and Mieres. Asturias, on alert for floods, meaning a morning of complications in schools, railways and roads. In Aller 49.5 liters of water per square meter have been registered during the night…”
“A storm system that brought the first accumulating snowfall of the year to Amsterdam and Paris on Tuesday will strengthen as it reaches the Mediterranean Sea and bring the risk for flooding rain, heavy snow and ice to parts of Italy and the Balkan Peninsula in the coming days. “This large and powerful storm will bring impactful weather to millions of people from Thursday into this weekend.”
“The rains have failed us. Nothing new, one might say. True, except that the rains’ let down this time comes on top of an already low-rain and, in many places, no-rain ground situation. And the next nearest rains are six months away. The cruelly blue, cloudless skies over much of India, north, central, eastern and peninsular India, say it all. And there is no guarantee that June will see the onset of a normal monsoon.”
“The same cold front that swept south through the Arabian Peninsula, bringing a widespread dust storm from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, has brought heavy rain to Pakistan.
[South East Asia has also had unusually heavy precipitation this January.]
“On Sunday night, it rained in Karachi, a rarity in January.
“The average rainfall is 9mm for January but by dawn on Monday, 38mm had fallen. It flooded many streets and plunged large swaths of the metropolis into darkness as the ground-mounted electricity transformers stopped working…
“The Indian Met Department has issued warnings of heavy or very heavy rain and snow for Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
“More than one metre of snow is expected. These warnings extend into Uttarakhand for Tuesday.
“Jammu and Kashmir has already reported a 20 percent excess of precipitation for the month. In Srinagar, it has rained or snowed virtually every day this year.
“So far 90mm have been recorded and the January average is 48mm.”
“Rafique Mohammed Pathan, 47, is a farmer in Jammu & Kashmir…
“This year’s record-breaking snowfall not only covered his farm but his house as well… leaving him no choice but to migrate with his wife and two children to the Diamond City. Since Rafique has no source of employment in Surat, he has to literally beg for food and money to support his family.”
“Chaturangi glacier, a tributary of the Gangotri glacier, is retreating at a “considerable rate” and may vanish in the future, according to a research paper accepted to be published in the Current Science journal’s February edition.
“The retreating glacier is another example of the impact of climate change and, according to one of the study’s contributors, affects water flow in the Ganga…”
“Local chiefs in Stung Treng province claimed on Monday that the Mekong River has risen by almost 2m…
“Thary said the area has been flooded for four or five days and he theorised that, due to heavy rainfall in Thailand, water was flowing into Laos, forcing it to open a hydropower dam’s floodgates and causing water to discharge into Cambodia.”
“Adelaide’s 80-year heat record could topple this Thursday, as the Bureau of Meteorology prepares to upgrade the forecast to 45C. The city’s highest recorded temperature stands at 46.1C, but John Nairn of the Bureau of Meteorology said that figure could be topped.”
“The freezing temperatures broke records in parts of New England. Boston only reached a high of 10 degrees and the temperature only climbed to a high of 1 degree in Worcester, Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service Boston.
“Earlier on Monday, Worcester tied its record low temperature at negative 6 degrees. And frigid air “will continue to overspread New England today and tonight,” the National Weather Service’s Boston office said Monday.”
“Look at all that snow in the Alps; has global warming taken a break?
“Alas, no, it turns out that the recent record-breaking dumps of snow across much of southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria are more likely a consequence of global warming. Why? Balmy temperatures in the North Sea and Baltic Sea are cooking up the ideal conditions to create snow.”
“Already a troubled region, the Sahel – which hugs the Saharan desert from Senegal to Eritrea – has seen a threefold increase in mega-storms over the last 35 years.
“The ferocious storms – which produce roughly the same amount of energy in 12 hours that the entire UK consumes in a year – can devastate everything in their path with powerful winds and torrential rain.”
“Mozambique’s fourth-largest city has been inundated by flooding after being hit by a tropical cyclone…
“Some 277 millimetres [11 inches] of rain was reported in Biera in the 24 hours until 06:00 GMT on Tuesday, more than the 250mm expected in the entire month of January. And the rain continues to fall… Cars were submerged up to their windows and dirty floodwater rushed into people’s homes and businesses.”
“A keystone prey species in the Southern Ocean is retreating towards the Antarctic because of climate change. Scientists say warming conditions in recent decades have led to the krill contracting poleward…
“Already there is some evidence that macaroni penguins and fur seals may be finding it harder to get enough of the krill to support their populations.”
“A series of devastating storms, including Hurricane Michael in the US, Typhoon Jebi in Japan and Typhoon Rumbia in China, helped drive economic losses solely due to weather events in 2017 and 2018 to $653bn (£506bn) and insured losses across all risks to $237bn, research from insurer Aon showed.”
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Weekday updates on both climate change and the global economy. Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.
“Rebecca Farr a meteorologist from New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology, told Daily Mail Australia the ‘scale and duration of the heatwave is unprecedented’.
“The record flooding [in Queensland] damaged the ferry infrastructure and shut down service across the river for several days… Torrential rainfall of nearly 300 mm (12 inches) fell in only 6 hours across the region, leading to the historic flooding. The heaviest rainfall has ended for Cairns and Daintree; however, additional showers and thunderstorms are possible each day this week, hampering recovery efforts and keeping river levels dangerously high.”
“A rare tornado in Havana, Cuba on Sunday night left at least three people dead and more than 170 people injured.”
“Arizona is facing a deadline to become the last of several states in the U.S. West to approve a plan ensuring shared water from the Colorado River doesn’t dry up for millions of farmers, cities, tribes and developers that depend on it. 
“The South and East Coast are expecting rain and snow today as an Arctic front heads east. Trailing this polar front is the coldest air mass seen in the U.S. in decades, and it’s expected to hit the Midwest tonight, into tomorrow… 
“A weekend deluge set a one-day rainfall record in Fort Myers that topped even 2016’s torrential downpours that caused massive flooding in some of Southwest Florida… 
““Torrential floods from the Najaf desert — the result of recent heavy rainfall — have swept away more than 50 homes in the village of Al-Rahimiya in the province’s southwest region,” Ihab Sheikli, a local civil-defence official, told Anadolu Agency.
“Heavy rainfall and sandstorms in the Kingdom have led to flooding, school closures and poor visibility, authorities said Monday as they urged people to take precautions during the bout of bad weather. 
“The Wellington suburb of Kelburn [New Zealand] has had its hottest day on record, reaching 30.3C today, following on from yesterday’s record-breaking heat in Richmond.”
“At least three people have died and more than 170 others have been injured after a tornado hit the Cuban capital Havana.
“In the Chicago area, snow will begin on Sunday night. Then the “coldest air mass in years” will hit the region on Tuesday with extreme cold lasting through Friday, the weather service said. Record low temperatures are likely by midweek.
“The Cantabrian Government [Spain] asks the population to exercise extreme caution since there is an exceptional situation due to the intense rains and floods, in which infrastructures and natural environments present important damages… 
“Algeria’s civil protection unit said Saturday five people died after being swept away by flood waters as a cold snap in the Maghreb brought snow to several of the country’s regions… 
“Flooding in five districts in the state [of Sabah, Malaysia] continues to worsen, with more people being forced to flee their homes. As of noon today, 2,607 people have been evacuated to 19 flood relief centres across the state… 
“Hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides and strong winds have hit several areas across Indonesia. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced in the last week… 
“Philippines – Nearly 20,000 individuals fled their homes in the Davao Region as the trough or extension of a low pressure area triggered floods and landslides. 
“Communities were cut off, farmers stranded and cows washed offshore as heavy rain pelted northeast Australia on Sunday, with one major river breaking 118-year-old floodwater records…. local authorities warned that some residents in remote areas could be cut off for days. 
“Regional Water Minister Niall Blair on Monday afternoon confirmed the [mass fish] deaths at Menindee weir and along parts of the Darling River affecting bony herring, golden perch and carp.
“Brazilian rescuers on Sunday soldiered on in the search for hundreds of people missing after a breached mining dam triggered a deadly mudslide, but hopes of finding survivors dimmed more than two days after the disaster.
“The retreat of Arctic glaciers is exposing landscapes that haven’t seen the sun for nearly 120,000 years.
“At least four people have been killed following heavy rainfall and flooding in Asturias [Spain]. 
“At least one person was killed and 11 others injured when a powerful tornado hit Turkey’s southern coastal Antalya province, according to the provincial governor… 
“South Africa’s agricultural industry body AgriSA will approach banks, agribusiness and government to raise 3 billion rand ($220 million) to help farmers hit by severe drought, its executive director said on Friday… 
“Adolescent girls exposed to severe drought conditions in rural Lesotho had higher rates of HIV, according to a new study… 
“The city of Chennai [India] is headed towards a drought worse than 2016 this summer but its residents, according to authorities controlling water supply, remain in denial. 
“Bangladesh, already grappling with the Rohingya crisis, now faces a devastating migration problem 
“The death toll from floods and landslides in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province has jumped to at least 59, according to authorities, as rescuers raced to find more than two dozen others still missing…
“…this year there are no rivers. With the mercury in the mid-40s, the Narran, the Namoi and the Barwon – all tributaries of the vast Murray-Darling river system – are dry, or reduced to a series of green, stagnant weir pools. 
“The gauge at Melbourne Airport topped 46 degrees – a new January record.
“Greg Fuzesi, an economist at JPMorgan, has estimated that the low level of the Rhine and other important German rivers shaved off 0.7 percentage points of economic growth in 2018. 
“The climate crisis is intensifying a new military buildup in the Arctic, diplomats and analysts said this week, as regional powers attempt to secure northern borders that were until recently reinforced by a continental-sized division of ice.
“Temperatures in southern Australia topped 49 degrees Celsius on Thursday (Jan 24), shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heat-stressed bats fell from trees.
“The Tasmania Fire Service is warning ember attacks and dangerous fire conditions could hit before dawn, and are urging people in the Central Highlands and south of Huonville to think about their bushfire survival plans now… 
“Both Queensland and Western Australia are being warned of brewing cyclones which threaten to lash both states with wild winds and rain. 
“As we approach the end of January some parts of New Zealand have become very dry after a wet end to 2018 and no real rain is in sight for some regions according to WeatherWatch NZ. 
“Novosilski Glacier is a large tidewater outlet glacier on the west (cloudier) coast of South Georgia, terminating in Novosilski Bay. 
“A storm will continue to bring locally heavy rain with ice at the onset in some locations and a change back to snow in other areas of the Northeast [USA] through Thursday. 
“The findings, published in the journal Global Environmental Change, showed a particular correlation between climate stresses and conflict in parts of the Middle East and North Africa from 2010–2012, when many countries were undergoing political transformation during the Arab Spring uprisings. 
“Fissures appear along roads while massive holes open up in the countryside, their gaping maws a visible sign from the air of something Iranian authorities now openly acknowledge: the area around Tehran is literally sinking. 
“India is likely to produce 319,500 tonnes of coffee in 2018/19, down nearly 16 percent from the previous estimate, after heavy rainfall hit yields in the top two growing states, the state-run Coffee Board said on Wednesday… 
“Floods and landslides in a central Indonesian province hit by torrential rains this week have killed 30 people and left more than two dozen missing, the national disaster agency said Thursday.
“A rapid climate shift under way in the Barents Sea could spread to other Arctic regions, scientists warn. 
“Torrential rains overwhelmed a dam and caused landslides that killed at least eight people and displaced more than 2,000 in central Indonesia, officials said Wednesday.
“As the rest of Australia sweltered in a heatwave, Western Australia was smashing rainfall records as a rare summer front swept across the State. 
“Emergency services are bracing for scorching conditions across South Australia and Victoria, with an expert warning that “nowhere is going to escape the heat” as sweltering temperatures threaten to break all-time records. Adelaide’s all-time record temperature of 46.1C is expected to the tested tomorrow… 
“It took one heatwave — just one — to kill about 34 per cent of the spectacled flying foxes in Australia. Shocked? Wait. It is not over yet. All the animals — also known as the spectacled fruit bats — reportedly died in two days. 
“Heatwave conditions with persistently high temperatures are expected over Free State, North-West and eastern parts of the Northern Cape [South Africa] until Friday… 
“While temperatures in many parts of the United States plummet close to zero, Seattle could be barreling toward its warmest January ever. 
“Bark beetle invaded tens of thousands of untouched acres of Colorado forests last year as trees suffered under record-breaking heat and extreme drought, says a new report by the Colorado State Forest Service and the U.S. Forest Service. 
“A cold weather system strengthened by Arctic air has helped freeze the area around Niagara Falls. More cold weather is expected to prolong the stunning scenes, with freezing rain on the way. 
“Argentina declares emergency due to floods. 
“University of Colorado glaciologist Mike MacFerrin, who studies meltwater on Greenland’s surface, agreed with the new paper’s conclusions. He recalled visiting Greenland in the spring of 2012, when the NAO was in a deeply negative phase and a massive high pressure system had parked itself over the ice island.
“The Arriondas hospital [NW Spain], forced by flooding to evacuate patients. 
“The rains have failed us. Nothing new, one might say. True, except that the rains’ let down this time comes on top of an already low-rain and, in many places, no-rain ground situation. And the next nearest rains are six months away. The cruelly blue, cloudless skies over much of India, north, central, eastern and peninsular India, say it all. And there is no guarantee that June will see the onset of a normal monsoon.”
“The same cold front that swept south through the Arabian Peninsula, bringing a widespread dust storm from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, has brought heavy rain to Pakistan.
“Rafique Mohammed Pathan, 47, is a farmer in Jammu & Kashmir… 
“Chaturangi glacier, a tributary of the Gangotri glacier, is retreating at a “considerable rate” and may vanish in the future, according to a research paper accepted to be published in the Current Science journal’s February edition. 
“Local chiefs in Stung Treng province claimed on Monday that the Mekong River has risen by almost 2m… 
“The freezing temperatures broke records in parts of New England. Boston only reached a high of 10 degrees and the temperature only climbed to a high of 1 degree in Worcester, Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service Boston. 
“Look at all that snow in the Alps; has global warming taken a break? 
“Already a troubled region, the Sahel – which hugs the Saharan desert from Senegal to Eritrea – has seen a threefold increase in mega-storms over the last 35 years. 
“Mozambique’s fourth-largest city has been inundated by flooding after being hit by a tropical cyclone… 
“A keystone prey species in the Southern Ocean is retreating towards the Antarctic because of climate change. Scientists say warming conditions in recent decades have led to the krill contracting poleward… 
“A series of devastating storms, including Hurricane Michael in the US, Typhoon Jebi in Japan and Typhoon Rumbia in China, helped drive economic losses solely due to weather events in 2017 and 2018 to $653bn (£506bn) and insured losses across all risks to $237bn, research from insurer Aon showed.”